Watch balance-spring



(No Model) 0. OLSEN.

WATCH BALANCE SPRING.

No. 469,914. Patented Mar. 1,1892.

MCi AGSSGS;

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

()LE OLSEN, OF ELGIN, ILLINOIS.

WATCH BALANCE-SPRING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 469,914, dated March 1, 1892.

Application filed October '7, 1891: Serial No. 408,027. (No model.)

To aZZ whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, OLE OLSEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Elgin, in the county of Kane and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in XVatch-Springs; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in hair-springs for watches and time-keepers; and it has for its object to poise the hairspring on the collet to insure more perfect timekeeping than can be secured with the ordinary construction and arrangement now in use. In has been customary to make the hair-spring of a number of coils varying from ten to sixteen and in some cases to increase the limit, and the over-coils of such springs have been made in many different forms and shapes when neither theory nor practice seemed to be of any use, and the relative position of the over-coil to the inside half-coil was never considered important. It has always been an easy matter to poise the balance-wheel; but to my knowledge a perfect poise of the hair-spring has never been accomplished. The spring has been secured to the collet at zero; but as the over-coil cannot be counted because of its near approach to the center it gave twelve half-coils on one side and thirteen coils on the other. This construction has therefore prevented the poising of the hair-sprint, and resulted in an error of time-keeping ranging from fifteen seconds upward.

My invention aims to construct the hairspring in a peculiar manner to obviate these obj ectionsjust noted, to secure a perfect poise of the hair-spring, and to obtain more perfect time-keeping.

lVith these and other ends in view my invention consists in making asprin g which has the inside half-coil and the outside over-coil on the same side, whereby an even number of half-coils on each side is secured, as the over-coil is so near the center it cannot be counted as a half-coil.

To enable others to more readily understand my invention, I have illustrated the same in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure I is an enlarged top plan view of my hair-spring with the balance and other parts associated immediately therewith. Fig. II is an enlarged plan view of the hair-spring, and Figs. IIIand lVare side elevations showing the rise or elevation of the over-coil and its position relative to the other coils of the spring.

Referring to the drawings, in which like letters of reference denote corresponding-parts in all the figures, A designates the hairspring, which is secured on the collet B above the balance 0 in any desirable manner.

To enable others skilled in the art to more clearly understand my invention, I have applied the coiled spring to a chart having the principal degree-points on Fig. II, referring more particularly to which the spring ispreferably fastened to the collet B at the pointindicated at one hundred and eighty degrees or between one hundred and thirty-five degrees and two hundred and twenty-five degrees, and the first bend E of the over-coil is also arranged at this point. This construction gives thirteen complete coils, more or less, as desired, which is the working part of the spiral as far as the poise of the main body of the hairspring is concerned.

. The balance and hair spring of a watch should be perfectly poised, to insure perfect time-keeping, in six positions-namely, dial up, dial down, and at the four equal divisions of the hour, XII, III, VI, and IX, up. The in side coils, out to the middle of the spiral or even more, are carried by the balance and amount to a good deal in weight. If there are not full coils from the starting-point in the collet to the first bend at one hundred and eighty degrees, it puts the spring out of poise to the extent of the fractional coil. The first bend of the spring at one hundred and eighty degrees serves as a movable stud for the spiral, and it is carried by the over-coil, which constitutes a flexible support therefor. If the regulator is dispensed with, the stationary stud CZ, now at three hundred and fifteen degrees, would have to be moved to zero, as that is the terminal end and working part of the whole spring.

I have stated that the first bend of the overcoilis at one hundred and eighty degrees, and this is my preferred construction; but I may make this bend and fasten thespring in the collet at any point between one hundred and thirty-five degrees and two hundred and twentyfive degrees, as may be found in practice to prove most advantageous. The over-coil then extends straightacross thespring, and the ends.

of said straight piece 6 point, preferably, to fifty-five degrees and one hundred and seventy degrees, and the second bend E of the overcoil is located at or about the former point. The last circle 6 of the over-coil begins at or about fifty degrees and terminates at zero, and should touch the straight line f-drawn from'five degrees to fifty degrees. In forming the over-coil the end is moved fo'r'u'rard forty-five'degrees, which" will very closely give theilengthof the over-coil before forming it to two hundred and twenty-five degrees. The increased' w'eight occasioned 1 by the straight portion of" the o'ver-coil is'c'ompensate'd by the lasthalf-coil being farther 'from the center than the next "last one,- and the spring is thus equally poised at thepoints ninety degrees and'two hundred'andseventy" degrees. The first upward incline of the'spri-n'g commences at two hundred and seventy degrees and g'rad-' ually increases tothe bend E,-whereit turns across'the spring and it may gradually increase, if desired. It will thus-beseen that there is'about one hundred and twenty-five degrees between the first bend E and second bend E, and I prefer toarrange the bends so that this number ofdegrees will intervene between them. This construction of the spring allows it to be equally poised,and ithas been I poise of the spring is reduced from fifteen to five seconds.

I am aware that changes in the form and proportion of parts and details of construc tion can be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing the advantages of my invention, and I therefore reserve the right to make such changes in the construction and arrangement of parts as fall within the scope of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as'new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A hair-springfor time-keepers, having the first half-coil and the over-coil arranged on the same side, substantially as'a'n-d' for the purpose described.

2. A hair spring'f'or watches,having the'upward-incline on the outer coil th'ereof,the

tially as described. I

3. A hair-spring for'ti'medzeepers, having the first half-coil and the over-coil arranged .on' the same side of a lin'edrawn throughthe collet and its outer coil provided with the up-' ward incline, and; the bend-E on'sai'd incline opposite to the point Where the inner end of the spring is fastened to the co1let,'s'ubsta'ntially as described.

In testimony whereof I a'flix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

. OLE OLSEN.

Witnesses: PEDER ROVELSTAD, ANDREW RovELsTAn. 

